New York Mayor Eric Adams continued the tradition begun by his predecessors, and was honored to kindle the first light of Hanukkah with a menorah recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world. The menorah was designed by the famous Israeli artist Yaakov Agam. This is a high-rise menorah, located in New York City on Fifth Avenue at 59th Street.
Last Sunday, on the first night of the festival of lights, Adams arrived where the menorah was to be lit, accompanied by his staff, and was warmly received by the members and rabbis of the Lubavitch youth movement, who are responsible for the lighting ceremonies. The menorah lighting ceremony was planned by Rabbi Shmuel Butman who conducts the event on a yearly basis.
After being honored to light the first candle with New York real estate tycoon Rotem Rosen, Adams spoke to those in attendance about the meaning of the holiday, his memories of Hanukkah as it was celebrated in the rabbinical courts and synagogues in Brooklyn where he grew up, and the return of life to New York after the coronavirus.
